Menu
Name: John Thompson
Alias: Harris
Place of Birth: Hardin County KY
Year of Birth: 1836
Occupation: Farmer
Eyes: Black Hair: Black Complexion: Dark
Height in Feet: 5 Inches: 6
View Ledger
Enlistment Date: August 14, 1864
Enlistment Place: Elizabethtown
Enlistment State: KY
Document: View
Congressional District: 4th
Company: A
Regiment(s): 108th USCI
Mustered Where: Louisville, KY
Mustered Out Date: March 21, 1866
Rank at Muster Out: Private
Notes:
The Compiled Military Service Records for John Thompson state he enlisted on August 14, 1864, at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and he mustered in on August 17, 1864, in Louisville, Kentucky. John was 28 years old, height of 5′ 8″, with black eyes, black hair, and dark complexion. John served in the 108th USCI, Company A, and he mustered out on March 21, 1866, at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Enlistment papers are included in the CMSR, which include the name of his enslaver: Ambrose Thompson.
Died in war? No
Military Death Date:
Military Death Location:
Military Cause of Death:
Death Date: June 6, 1923
Cause of Death: unknown
Pension Card Link: Pension Card
Pension Application Date: January 24, 1887
Application No.: 594923 Certificate No.: 512080
Alternate First Name: Alternate Last Name:
Widow Pension Card: Pension Card
Widow Application Date: September 4, 1923 Application No.: 1211831
Certificate No.: 963531
No other family pension card found
Pension File:
Pensioners:
Pensioner County: Pensioner State:
Number of Pages:
Pension Notes:
John Thompson applied for an Invalid’s Pension on Jan. 24, 1887, application no. 594923, certificate no. 512080. His wife, Nova Thompson, applied for a Widow’s Pension on Sept. 4, 1923, application no. 1211831, certificate no. 963531. Her application was filed from Kentucky. The pension card states John Thompson was “known as” John Harris. His death date is also provided – June 6, 1923. A second pension card provides the place of death for John: Elizabethtown, Ky.
An attempt was made to retrieve the full pension file from the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; however, the file was not there. It was suggested that the file may be at the National Archives facility in St. Louis, MO, or it may be in the possession of the Veterans Administration.
No Freedman’s Bank information found
No Freedmen’s Bureau Documents found
Mother First Name: Mother Maiden Name:
Father First Name: Father Last Name:
Siblings:
Wife #1 First Name: Nova Maiden Name:
Wife #2 First Name: Maiden Name:
Wife #3 First Name: Maiden Name:
Children: Mary Harris 1913
Family Notes:
John (Thompson) Harris’s death date was retrieved from his pension index cards.
The only conclusive records for family of John (Thompson) Harris are a pension card naming his wife as Nova (possibly Nora) Thompson and the 1920 Census, also listing wife Nova Harris and daughter, Mary Harris, age 7. A 1910 Census record shows a John Harris in Hardin County listed as a widower, but it is not confirmed this is soldier John (Thompson) Harris.
Family Tree:
View Family Tree on Ancestry.com
Please note: this requires a paid Ancestry.com account to view. If you do not have have a paid Ancestry subscription, you can still see this family tree on Ancestry by following these directions.
1870 Census information not found
1880 Census information not found
1890 Census information not found
1900 Census information not found
1910 Census Link: View
1910 Profession: None
1910 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1910 Own/Rent: Rent 1910 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1910 Farm/House: House
1910 Census Notes:
In 1910, John Harris is 71 years old, listed as a widower. He rents a house and has no occupation. This census record is likely to be soldier John Thompson, as he is 71 years old and living in Elizabethtown, where we know he lived at the time of his death in 1923. The record notes that he is a veteran of the Civil War, which provides supporting evidence that this is the right John (Thompson) Harris. The record poses a question: If John is widowed, who was he married to previously, and does he have children?
1920 Census Link: View
1920 Profession: None
1920 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1920 Own/Rent: Rent 1920 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1920 Farm/House: House
1920 Census Notes:
In 1920, John Harris is 82 years old, living with his wife Nova, age 48, and daughter Mary, age 7. They live at 187 Valley Creek Road, Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Neither John nor Nova can read or write. Neither one has an occupation.
This record is very likely soldier John Thompson, now living as John Harris. The census record provides supporting evidence of his wife’s name being Nova, as was listed on a pension card. This record provides new evidence of a daughter named Mary Harris, born in about 1913. Since there is a 34-year age gap between John and his wife, Nova, it is possible that John may not be the father of daughter Mary.
Name: Ambrose Thompson
Location: Hardin County, Kentucky
Previous Enslaver:
Enslaver Notes:
In the 1850 Census, Ambrose Thompson was a 35-year-old farmer living in Hardin County, Kentucky. His real estate was valued at $2,000, and he was the enslaver of seven people.
In the 1860 Census, Ambrose Thompson was a 46-year-old farmer living in Hardin County, Kentucky. His real estate was valued at $9,000, and his personal estate was valued at $4,500. He was the enslaver of seven people.
None of the enslaved match the approximate age that John Thompson would have been at that time.
In the 1870 Census, the value of John Thompson’s personal estate has been reduced to $1,200.
1850 Census Link: View
1850 Slave Schedule Link: View
1850 Number of Enslaved: 7
1860 Census Link: View
1860 Real Estate Value: $9,000
1860 Personal Estate Value: $4,500
1860 Slave Schedule Link: View
1860 Number of Enslaved: 7
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Real Estate Value: $6,000 1870 Personal Estate Value: $1,200
Compensation Application not found
This website is a service of Reckoning, Inc., a small non-profit organization that depends on grants and donations to continue our work. Up to this point, we have avoided putting any paid advertising on our website. If you would like to help us keep it that way, please consider making a donation to our organization.